E3 2004: Paper Mario 2 Hands-On

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Sharp enough to make our hands bleed.

By IGN Staff

All of you are familiar with a little pot-bellied plumber named Mario (you better be), but most of you haven't seen Mario like this. Paper Mario 2, the sequel to the popular Nintendo 64 Paper Mario, is a clever, fun, RPG based on the Toadstool Kingdom. If you never had a chance to play through the original Paper Mario, a good gauge of what you're getting into can be found in Mario & Luigi Super Star Saga. While the Game Boy Advance game doesn't incorporate paper, the overall style (except for art) is practically identical. Of course...Paper Mario 2 is a progression beyond anything Mario-RPG related that you've touched.

The E3 demo let you check out three different locals and get a feel for the battle system, although we've only touched the surface in terms of what can be done. Controls are very straightforward and intuitive. Most actions are accomplished with the A button -- like opening doors, jumping, attacking (in battle), and interacting with objects. B swings your hammer. Y swaps between Mario and the character that's currently following him and X let's you execute a team attack.

Here's a glimpse into the mind set of Paper Mario 2. On our first Nintendo fieldtrip, destination Star Crystal Fields, Mario is followed by a pink Goomba. She's your other playable character and will help you out in combat situations, etc. She's also supposed to team up with Mario for certain attacks. If you try to use this ability, the Goomba exclaims, "What?! You think I'm actually going to reveal all my tricks to you at the show? Wait for the game." Later on you encounter a similar light hearted conversation with a Toad-ish character, "Have you played Fire Emblem? It's such a cool game." Goomba Gal is even hit on by a sleazy, blue (color), French Elvis impersonator. The dialogue is funny, at times witty, full of Nintendo references, and it'll make you smile as you read it.

Star Crystal Fields appears to be modeled off a typical Mario background. A path splits a wheat field in half. Distant hills litter the background. As Mario walks through the vegetation, bits of wheat fly up into the air as the stems are broken. During his excursion into the underbrush, Mario is likely to encounter wild Goombas and Goomba Troopas.

The rotund plumber has a couple different options when confronted with wildlife. He can avoid it, engage it, or strike first. Avoidance is easy -- don't touch the mushroom headed baddies. Initiating combat is simple -- bump into them -- but you'll receive an advantage if you get the drop on the Goomba with a jump or hammer smack. Similarly, if they get the drop on you (because your back was turned) they'll get to strike first.

The combat system, while at its roots is similar to prior Mario RPGs, has a lot of new features. Once again featuring turn based combat, Mario and Co. can choose from a variety of options, like attack, item, and tactics (appeal, defend, etc.). Once you select an attack, a mini-game will pop up on screen. -- dependent on your decision. If your timing is successful, you'll do more damage. If Mario is using his basic jump, he has to press the A button right before he hits his enemy. If he uses his power jump, he can jump repeatedly on enemy heads as long as the timing is correct. His basic hammer attack requires you to hold the left thumb stick until a series of circles are light up. As soon as the last circle is lit, hit A to cause more damage. Other character attacks might need you to stop a sliding bar in the middle of a meter or line up cross hairs within a revolving circle. On the other side of the equation, dodging incoming attacks requires you to hit A right before you're about to get hurt. Why's this battle system so great? Because it's fun, you have a direct impact on how powerful your moves are, and it helps break up the monotony that sometimes occurs when playing turn-based RPGs.

Items are all taken from the Mario universe. Mushrooms give you health. Lightening bolts inflict heavy damage on all enemies. The POW box knocks them down. Shooting Star will rain down stars from the heavens. Flower Power unleashes a hail of fire balls. Pretty self explanatory.

Yeah, it sounds the same. But, it's not the means of combat that makes Paper Mario 2 so different. It's where these battles take place. Mario performs on a stage. Depending on his attacks and how well he plays, he'll begin to draw more and more people to his battles (with star power). This isn't just for show. If you have a lot of star power, the crowd will drop buckets onto enemies' heads -- if you're lucky it'll make them dizzy -- or they'll throw you power ups. Vice versa, if you're performing poorly the crowd will throw garbage at you, push set designs onto your party, or drop buckets on your head.